Members of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for a group portrait at the Supreme Court in Washington. Seated from left are: Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Standing, from left are: Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito Jr., and Elena Kagan.

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The Register?s Editorial

It is hard to imagine a system of justice that would bar a prisoner condemned to a life behind bars from presenting credible new evidence of innocence, no matter how late in the game. Yet, that was the effect of a law passed by Congress in 1996 designed to speed up criminal prosecutions.

The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has opened the door to such appeals even if procedural rules would otherwise block them. The door was opened just a crack in the ruling handed down Tuesday, but at least a convicted offender who can produce evidence of innocence will be able to get that evidence before a judge. That ...